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(Posted 7:30
a.m., Jan. 27)
Bridge opponents make presence felt at Greenbelt Master Plan open
house
By Fred Sherwin
Orléans Online
They
didn`t bring signs. They weren't disruptive. But opponents of any plans to build
an interprovincial bridge near Convent Glen North definitely made their presence
felt at a Greenbelt Master Plan Review meeting held at Louis Riel High School
on Tuesday night. Opponents
of the proposed interprovincial bridge placed a massive amount of red stickers
on a display board asking people to indicate their feelings on the statement,
“The Greenbelt should... allow new roads and transitways to meet regional
demands“. The red stickers indicated they were against it. The green stickers
for it. The red stickers out-numbered the green stickers 10-to-1. The
vast majority of people who placed a red sticker under the question did so with
the presumption that, “allow new roads and transitways“, was code for
interprovincial bridge. “I'm
in favour of the Greenbelt and all of it's advantages, but I'm also against any
type of infrastructure, such as a bridge, especially in an area were the impact
would be devastating,“ said Convent Glen North resident Michel Laflamme after
placing a red sticker on the display board. The
NCC embarked on a process to identify the best location for an interprovincial
bridge two years ago. After the first phase of the study was completed in the
fall of 2008, the federal agency identified three corridors for assessment in
Phase 2 of the study. One of the corridors was Kettle Island, the other two are
both located in the NCC lands between Green's Creek and Convent Glen North. After
it was announced that the NCC intended to study all three options as part of Phase
2, a number of residents opposed to a bridge near Convent Glen North got together
and formed the group Common Sense Crossings. One of their primary arguments against
building a bridge in the area is the impact it would have on the NCC lands north
of Hwy. 174 which form the northeast portion of the Greenbelt. Any
plans to build a bridge in the area would require a change to the current Greenbelt
Master Plan, which is why members of Common Sense Crossings and other residents
of Convent Glen North were out in force at the Greenbelt Master Plan Review meeting. People
like Bill and Breda Gusen took time out from their busy lives to voice their objections
to a possible bridge in their backyard. “Our
house backs on to the Greenbelt where they want to build a bridge,“ Bill
Gusen explained. “So anything beyond farming or forestry would be completely
unwanted on our part.` The
bridge issue aside, there were many people at the open house who simply wanted
to register their support for the Greenbelt and its continued use as a natural
area. At
the very end of the long row of display boards, people were asked to sum up their
“ideal vision“ on the Greenbelt in the year 2060 by writing one or two
words on a post-it. The most common words used were “clean air“, “trees“,
“peaceful“, “cross-country skiing“ and “no bridge“. Some
issues received more support than others. For instance, a majority of people reacted
negatively to the statement “Built facilities should... be expanded where
possible because the Greenbelt provides a good location for additional public
institutions“ On
the other side of the equation, a majority of people reacted positively to the
statement “Built facilites should... only be allowed to expand where environmental
impacts are negligible and the facility cannot be located elsewhere.“ But
on the question “Recreation opportunities in the Greenbelt should... avoid
introduction of facilites that are land intensive such as golf courses and camping“,
the response was divided evenly. The
open house at Louis Riel was one of three such meetings scheduled throughout the
week. The consultants will use information gathered at the meetings to help establish
a Conceptual Plan which will be unveiled during the summer when another round
of public consultations will take place. Sector
Plans dealing with the various geographic portions of the Greenbelt, such as Green`s
Creek and the Mer Bleue Bog, will be unveiled next fall. The final revised Greenbelt
Master Plan is expected to be completed by the fall of 2011. For
more information about the Greenbelt Master Plan Review visit http://www.canadascapital.gc.ca. (This
story was made possible thanks to thie generous support of our local
business partners.) Return
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